5 Myths About Career Women

The best way to stop stereotypes and myths about women from being perpetuated and internalized in society is to realize what they are, and speak up against them. A while ago, I read about some myths regarding women in the workplace from my text book Women Lead the Way, by Linda Tarr-Whelan, that I felt were important to mention here today. The problem with these myths, the author points out, is that there is a little bit of truth to them. I imagine, just enough to keep some people skeptical. So, after briefly acknowledging that, it's time to dispel these buggers.

Myth 1: Be Patient
Women are told that if they are struggling to advance in their career that they need only be patient, and wait for the opportunity. It's all just a matter of time. However, The New York Times ran an article pointing out that while women have comprised much of the business world for many years, only 2% of the C.E.O.'s of Fortune 500 companies are female. Furthermore, over 10% of these companies don't even have one woman on their board of directors. Ilene H. Lang, president of Catalyst, says, "Women are almost two and a half times as likely to be channeled into staff jobs like H.R. and communications than into operating roles where they would be generating revenue and managing profit and loss." She adds, "When more women hold line positions, there will be more women top earners and C.E.O.'s." Executives and analysts also cite the fact that men at the top tend to choose to work with someone they feel comfortable with, generally other men.